The State of New/Young Generation Oiler Fans

[Da McBomb]

I just wanted to get some of your thoughts on how the long struggle of the Oilers have effected their fanbase - in particular, the kids and the younger and newer generation fans. I'm almost close to 40 years old and grew up through the dynasty 80 teams and as such, became a diehard Oiler fan even up to this day.
My loyalty to the team today was built on my great passion and love for the successful Oiler teams I grew up with. But even with my loyalty, I am finding it quite difficult to be a fan of this team right now and am not following them as much as I used to.

I have a 9 year old son who is in hockey and really likes the sport, but at the same time, he is definitely not into the Oilers as much as I was at his age. He's more into basketball and would much rather watch a bball game than watch the Oilers. Then you throw in all the other entertainment options that are available for kids today - ipads, video games, etc - well its not surprising then to me that my son's generation is just not big into the Oilers as my generation was at their age. Am I wrong in my views here? For the parents of kids here, are you finding that your kids just aren't as big into the Oilers as you were? Brand loyalty is huge in any business and even though the Oilers are still selling out today, it is my view that all these years of struggles will eventually negatively effect their bottom dollar in the future with less loyal fans going to games and also buying merchandise. Just wanted to get some of your thoughts.

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[Supermassive]

I think the org has smartly added the Oil Kings to fulfill demand for family-friendly hockey. The employment boom will fill seats for a long time.

My kids wouldn't notice if the Oilers moved to Seattle tomorrow. And that's fine - it's just entertainment. Let the kids discover the team if they become competitive again.

 

[nitz]

Winning changes everything.

There are 11 and 12 year old kids who have no recollection of the 2006 playoff run and have not known the Oilers to be anything but awful. Why would they support a losing team?

 

[Frank the Tank]

Winning changes everything.

There are 11 and 12 year old kids who have no recollection of the 2006 playoff run and have not known the Oilers to be anything than awful. Why would they support a losing team?

I have seen first hand how winning changes everything. When I moved to Chicago a decade ago it was difficult to find anyone who followed hockey closely and the Hawks were an afterthought around these parts. Two cups later and the Hawks are right behind the Bears in terms of popularity in Chicagoland. Everyone owns at least one piece of Hawks clothing and bars show all the games because it creates business. Among kids the game has never been more popular and youth hockey enrollment increases every year for Illinois.

 

[Gambl0r83*]

They make the playoffs, here comes the boom

 

[Up the Irons]

they've lost any chance of capivating my 10 year old daughter. she thinks the Oilers never win, just make her daddy mad, and will likely never like hockey.

My wife and 21 year old daughter, one-time Oiler and hockey, now only follow NFL. They've lost them, and are this close to losing me, a lifelong, completely obsessed Oiler fan.

 

[Zenos]

Having been born in the mid 80's, I was simply too young to enjoy the glory years first-hand. Instead, my first oilers memories involve terrible teams, the selling-off and trading away of all the marquee players, and a half-full Coliseum (with those ugly old red seats to boot!). I was always drawn to hockey and the nhl, and the oilers were by-default my favourite team (although due to certain players, namely Pavel Bure and Ed Belfour, I briefly called myself a Canucks and Hawks fan ), but it wasn't until the playoff series of 97 and 98 that I really got hooked on the home-town team.

I imagine it's the same for a lot of younger fans now. They're still into playing hockey, follow the NHL, etc. and are at least nominally Oilers fans, (while at the same time cheering on Crosby or Toews or whomever), but don't have that same connection. Only playoffs can really change that.

 

[Pucklington]

I was a die hard fan for more than 20 years.

I rarely watch any more regardless of whether they are winning or losing. Management has been lost in the woods for almost 8 years with no repercussions.

I expect any player of quality on this team to leave via ufa or trade.

I don't expect to become the fan i was regardless of what happens with this team. I

 

[Blue And Orange]

I'm also part of the post dynasty generation.

The 1997 and 1998 playoff runs helped captivate my fandom of this team.

I too am starting to feel my passion for this team start to wane.

 

[ElFossum]

Reason why I became I die hard fan was because I had the privilege of seeing 3 playoffs games during their cinderella run. The atmosphere, the quality of hockey and the spectacle itself made me fall in love. I'm a diehard, watch 65+ games a year, and somehow still watch that ****. Winning will bring fans, simple.

 

[smackdaddy]

I can barely muster the justification to spend $18/month on Hockeystreams which is the cheapest option for watching them right now. I laugh at the thought of a TV subscription + center ice.

I have absolutely ZERO enthusiasm for this team. I feel absolutely nothing and hockey is boring to me now. Every time I watch other teams play I get pissed off at how much better the hockey is.

 

[shoop]

My interest in hockey is waning.

I won't cheer for another team.

Another four game win streak sucks me back in. Probably have to wait for the end of the Eakins era for that likely.

 

[Yukon Joe]

As a Winnipegger living in Edmonton (after a lengthy stint in Whitehorse), I'm hoping to raise my three boys as solid Jets fans. They're all young (4,2 and 1), but so far it seems to be sticking at least with the oldest boy.

 

[Oilers93]

As someone who is old enough to remember the 2006 playoff run and not much before it (vaguely remember a loss to the Stars in the 03 playoffs) I gotta say watching this team flounder around and look like **** every night really gets old after a while, lots of my friends tend to cheer for other teams such as the Ducks, Wild, and even I have a "2nd team" if you will (Flyers, started liking them around 2007-08) that I cheer when they're not playing the Oilers or when they have playoff games. Very difficult to keep watching this team when you know there is no possible reward for it as long as these incompetent morons are running the show.

 

[Horseradish]

I'm at an all-time low in interest for the team too.

Born in the mid-80s, can remember back to about '91. Have had Damphousse, MacIver, Ranford, Cujo, Guerin, Stoll and Hemsky jerseys. Have owned probably at least 10 different Oilers hats. My old man had season's tickets (well, he kept 20-25 games per year and sold them to friends or gave them to his brother) from the time the Oilers came into the NHL until...I think it was 2011 or 2012. I remember going to the 10 or so games/year I'd get to go to being the absolute highlight of my childhood winters. Even though they were mostly a putrid team playing in a half empty building with hardly any talent to speak of. Though certainly the 97 and 98 series wins were a LOT of fun.

Alas, despite all of the sell-off years and the relocation likelihood, what finally broke my Pops' heart was to see the team purposefully losing, so he gave up his season's tickets. I've been a bit more resilient and have watched or at least tried to watch every game for the past 5-10 years since it's been possible to do so.

But last year, for the first time, I purposefully stopped watching games at the height of their horridness. And I didn't actually miss it. So I didn't make an effort to watch games and actually felt pretty good about it.

Now, this year? I was kind of excited to see a team that I thought should at least be competitive until March or so. NOPE. They're pretty much out of it by November again. I'm not gonna watch against Boston cuz they're obviously going to lose. And even though I'm living in Southern Ontario for the year and had planned to buy tickets to the Buffalo game, I'm waiting to see what happens with Boston the night before. If they win, I'll go. If not, I'm not watching this team again until they win a couple of games in a row. It just ruins my night and puts me in a crappy mood and...I don't need it. I have plenty of other things to do and plenty of other responsibilities to tend to.

 

[McAsuno]

My interest is fading for this team. The last time the oilers were in the playoffs was when I was in grade 6. Now? I'm in university. I still remember the cinderalla run. Edmonton was booming. Cars honking all night, fans cheering, Whyte Avenue was entertaining, and it was just a great experience. To even attend to one of the playoff game still holds dear memories to me. Now, I can barely sit and watch the team play without being disgusted and disappointed. Then I turn on other teams playing, and you can see so much what the oilers don't have. Even the flames despite having injuries to key players, and not having much talent compared to the oilers shows more heart and battle in their game, that I'm actually entertained by watching. I've always been a diehard of the oilers and hockey in general. But the oilers just make hockey look putrid. Embarrassing team and embarrassing management. I long for the day where I can wear my oiler jersey in public, and not be laughed/mocked at. Unfortunately, the oilers are turning me so apathetic, that I doubt I'm even going to watch many oiler games. They're quickly turning my passion for hockey away. They've done it with my father already.

 

[Da McBomb]

My son came downstairs while I was watching the game last night, looked at the score (it was 2-0 Flyers at the time).. and he said with a straight face "Hey the Oilers are playing pretty good tonight, they're only down 2 goals". I just chuckled.

Its pretty sad that when I was his age, the Oilers had just won 2 cups and was in the middle of their dynasty days. He, on the other hand, has not even gotten a chance to watch the Oilers play even ONE playoff game yet. He told me most of the kids in his grade 4 class are not big Oiler fans and think they 'suck' lol.

 

[Lewy]

My son came downstairs while I was watching the game last night, looked at the score (it was 2-0 Flyers at the time).. and he said with a straight face "Hey the Oilers are playing pretty good tonight, they're only down 2 goals". I just chuckled.

Its pretty sad that when I was his age, the Oilers had just won 2 cups and was in the middle of their dynasty days. He, on the other hand, has not even gotten a chance to watch the Oilers play even ONE playoff game yet. He told me most of the kids in his grade 4 class are not big Oiler fans and think they 'suck' lol.

Major understatement.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

my interest in the NHL has never been lower due to Oilers sucking...cause I can't cheer for another team and I'm jealous/bitter at other teams for being competitive and having a plan...

there's just no progress here and none on the horizon because we got awful management..despressing

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

For me, the NHL and Oilers specifically is now just a passing interest. I am in my 40's and watched the Dynasty years and the terrible mid 90's teams. My passion for the team didn't waiver. The first lockout lost me a bit, the second one lost me completely. I have not watched 1 minute of any Oilers game this year and maybe a handful of games last year, but only partially, never a full game.

I have no interest in going to a game. I'd never pay for a ticket as there is not enough value for the money. I've even turned down free tickets as I can't justify spending 4-5 hours of time to invest in watching them.

I have just found other things to do.

 

[Lewy]

Almost every single time I watch a game, at the end of it I come away thinking "what a ****ing waste of time".
I still keep watching.

 

[Worraps]

The state of the new/young generation Oilers fans:

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

I was a die hard fan for more than 20 years.

I rarely watch any more regardless of whether they are winning or losing. Management has been lost in the woods for almost 8 years with no repercussions.

I expect any player of quality on this team to leave via ufa or trade.

I don't expect to become the fan i was regardless of what happens with this team. I

Word for word, exactly how I feel.

I'll watch the odd period or check the score if they're playing but the amount of attention I devote to them is maybe an hour a week. Just can't be bothered to waste my time following an organization that shows no inclination of being run competitively. Much better, more exciting entertainment and sports options out there. The Broncos were in the same position the Oilers are back in the mid and late 00's and now look at em... the Oilers don't have a Peyton Manning but front office wise, they should look to them as to how it's done right.

 

[MarkGio]

It makes sense that a disinterested generation of people will be less likely build that nostalgia.

 

[Forgot About Drai]

Im 19 and missed the dynasty and years and you can tell interest is waning in kids my age. There are kids who are die hards just like me, but a good portion of kids just laugh when it comes to the Oilers. Most kids my age are usually shocked that I still support the Oilers. Its pretty sad.